A TOWN centre base for the police has been secured in Callington ahead of the imminent sale of the police station to generate income for the cash-strapped Devon and Cornwall Constabulary.

Callington Town Council said this week it welcomed the move which would centralise services in the town and provide a welcome reassurance to the public that the police were here to stay.

There were fears that following the closure of the public enquiry desk at Callington Police Station and the fact that the station was now much too large for the numbers of officers based there, the town’s police, who also cover Calstock, Gunnislake and Stoke Climsland, would operate out of Launceston or Liskeard in the future.

Callington town councillor Jeremy Gist, who is the town council’s police liaison member, said this was a very real possibility, given that many towns no longer had a town centre police presence in terms of a station or office.

‘It could have gone down the route of having a hub in Launceston or Liskeard, the station operating out of a Portacabin in Fore Street or from the Fire Station which is on the edge of the town,’ he said.

To all intents and purposes the police presence has moved out of town centres in many areas and we were keen to maintain the presence in our town.

‘What we have achieved, through the good working relationship we have with the police in Callington, will be very welcome all round and if we do ever get more police officers on the beat, there is room to expand if necessary.’

Mr Gist added that it also made sense to have the police office in the same place as where the CCTV was managed. With three upgraded cameras and a fourth just added to cover the main town centre, police would be able to have immediate access to the monitoring system in the town council offices.

Town clerk Helen Dowdall said an area of the offices was currently being converted to accommodate the officers — neighbourhood beat manager Pete Bluett and PCSOs Jo Addems and Clare Danson — and would probably be operational by October.

She said: ‘As a town council we have had to sacrifice some space but believe it is worth it to have the police based here.

‘They will be more accessible to the public and we work very closely with the police on many issues, so it can only improve our working relationship. We can keep people more informed and up to date about what is going on as well.

‘There was a very real danger that if the police moved out of Callington, the response times would decrease and people would not report things anymore. Callington is not a high crime area, but having the police here, on the spot, is a comfort blanket for people, as the perception of crime is higher.’

Business manager for Devon and Cornwall Police John Shepherd said by reducing revenue costs, funds would be maximised to support front line policing.

‘In addition to reducing revenue costs, this will also release the site of the existing police station for development and generate additional income, which can also be used to further support front line policing,’ he said.

‘There will not be a reduction in the number of police officers or community support officers as a result of this move, which will further enhance the excellent working relationship Devon and Cornwall Police currently enjoy with Callington Town Council.’

The move is part of a forcewide estates rationalisation programme, which has seen revenue costs reduce by in excess of £600,000 over the last five years and which is targeting a further saving in excess of £500,000 over the next five years.

l Police Constable Pete Bluett has been appointed as the new neighbourhood beat manager for Callington, Gunnislake, Calstock and Stoke Climsland.

PC Bluett has worked for the police for 20 years and covered most of North Cornwall in that time.

He has been a response officer for 18 months at Callington and knows the area well. He said he was looking forward to working with each of the four communities to tackle problems in the area.